Why Do Chickens Chase You? 3 Important Reasons For Chasing

Being chased by chickens can leave you with many questions. Key among those is the question on why do chickens chase you.

It is a question you have to ask yourself, especially if you have noticed a trend where chickens keep on chasing you, time and again.

You therefore find yourself wondering whether there is something wrong with either you or the chicken. This article has the answers.

Why do chickens chase you? Well, there are three primary reasons why chickens may chase a person. The first scenario is where the birds reckon that you may give them food. The second scenario is where the chickens just like to be around you. So they chase you for fun, basically.

And the third case is where the chickens (especially the top ranking roosters) view you as a threat. So they chase you as a defensive measure, and to assert dominance.

It is important for you to differentiate whether the chickens are chasing after you in a nice manner or in an aggressive manner. For instance, in the cases where they want food from you, they are more likely to chase after you nicely.

But in cases where they view you as a threat or want to assert dominance over you, they are more likely to chase after you angrily and aggressively. So in the latter case, they chase you in a manner which suggests that they could scratch or peck you.

Why Does My Chicken Attack Me?

The most probable reason for your chicken attacking you could be to assert dominance over you. But what you view as an ‘attack’ may actually also be an attempt at grabbing your attention. Or it could be curiosity, on account of a red colorful outfit you are wearing, the red nail polish on your hands, or something else along those lines.

On another note, if your chicken has young chicks, she may act aggressive as a defensive measure for the young brood.

Why Do Chickens Chase You?

In most cases, chickens chase you because they have come to view you as their caregiver. Therefore they know that if they chase you, they may get food and other stuff they need from you with ease.

And, it is in fact an effective strategy: because when the chickens chase you, and you happen to have something they can eat, you are likely to give it to them so as to divert their attention.

There are other cases where chickens chase you as a sign of affection. We have been conditioned to view chickens as birds with low IQ. But in actual fact, chickens are quite intelligent. They are able to recognize many human faces. If they recognize you and come to like you, they may be inclined to keep on chasing after you.

We also have situations where chickens chase people in order to establish dominance over them. Laughable, but true. You have to understand that in chicken world, hierarchy and one’s place in the pecking order is very important.

Therefore if you are someone the chicken interacts with regularly, she will try to establish her dominance over you. Or more accurately, ‘he’ – because it is the roosters who tend to exhibit this behavior. If you respond by actually running, he will get the impression of having ‘won’.

Thereafter, he is likely to develop a habit of chasing after you every time he sees. He would be getting a lot of pleasure from just chasing you, and seeing the terror in you!

What Does It Mean When A Chicken Follows You?

Rather than asking why do chickens chase you, you may reframe the question as ‘what does it mean when a chicken follows you’? It could mean two things. Firstly, it could mean that the chicken wants something from you, most probably food. Alternatively, it could mean that the chicken finds you interesting (and that is why she keeps on following you).

In the latter scenario, the chicken may also be finding you curious, perhaps due to your outfits. So she keeps on following you out of curiosity.

Do Chickens Show Affection To Humans?

Yes they do. For sure, they may not go overboard (like dogs) in showing affection to their human owners. But chickens do recognize and show affection to humans. That is especially the case for the humans they view as their caregivers, people they have grown with.

Their ways of showing affection to us may, unfortunately, not always make sense to us. For instance, one way in which a chicken may show affection to you is by following/chasing after you!

Therefore if you have been wondering why do chickens chase you, it could very well be their way of showing affection to you.

Why Do Roosters Chase Humans?

Roosters typically chase humans for defensive purposes. This is to say that the roosters normally chase the humans because they view them as threats. In one case, the rooster (specifically the top rooster in a flock) may chase you because he views you as a threat to the flock of chicken under him.

In another case, the rooster may chase you because he views you as a threat to his position as the top rooster in the flock.

You have to remember that in the ‘chicken societies’, it is the roosters that assume the role of protecting the flocks from threats. Therefore if the top rooster in a certain flock comes to view you as a threat to the chicken under him, he is likely to chase you. He would be doing this in a bid to protect those other chickens that have entrusted him with the leadership position.

You also have to remember that ‘chicken societies’ are very hierarchical in nature. It takes a lot of effort for a rooster to become the alpha (top dominant) rooster in a flock. Having attained that position, he is likely to fight anyone and anything he views as a threat to his position. If you happen to fall into that category of things he views as a threat, he will definitely chase you – so that you can stop threatening his position.

There is also the possibility he reckons that if other chickens in the flock see him successfully chasing a human, they would fear him more. This would further solidify his position as the alpha male of the flock.

Why Do Chickens Chase Humans?

The most common reason for chickens chasing humans is the search for food. Chickens know that humans can give them food. They also know that in order to increase chances of getting the food, they need to grab the humans’ attention.

Further, they know that chasing the humans is a very powerful way of grabbing their attention. It is usually against that background that chickens chase humans.

You may then ask, why do chickens chase you even when they are well fed (if it is all about food)? One way of looking at it would be by remembering that chickens never seem to have enough food.

That is mainly due to how fast their metabolism works. Therefore even if they have plenty of food in front of them, chickens will still chase you once they see you, especially if they reckon that you are a person who can give them even more food.

Besides wanting to get food from you, chickens could also chase you as a sign of affection for you. Or they could chase you in a bid to ‘intimidate’ you (so as to reassert their place in the pecking order). The manner in which they chase after you will tell you what it is all about.

If they chase you in an aggressive manner, you know that they are probably trying to assert dominance over you. Conversely, if they chase after you ‘nicely’, it could mean that they want some food from you.

How Do You Calm Down Chickens?

One strategy you can use to calm down chickens is that of cuddling them. It sounds funny, but it actually works. The most important thing is to lift the chicken in a gentle manner. If you make a sudden and rough motion in trying to grab her, you will only end up making her more agitated. So you grab her as gently as possible. Then tuck her under your arms for several minutes. This will go a long way in calming her.

To reiterate, the key thing is to be gentle when getting hold of the chicken. Chickens are threatened by fast, jerky movements (haven’t you wondered why do chickens chase you when you walk in a cocky manner, yet they don’t when you walk gently)? Now you know. So grab the chicken as gently as possible, tuck him under your arms for several minutes and by the end of it all, he will have calmed down.

Another strategy you can use to calm down chicken is that of making a ‘shhhh’ sound using your mouth. It usually has a great calming effect on chicken.

There is also the option of dropping some food in front of the agitated chicken. Chicken are ravenous feeders, and the sight of food usually makes them forget all other concerns.

A more advanced method to calm down a chicken is that of holding her firmly on a table. Then you move your hands back and forth in front of her beak several times. Or you hold the chicken down firm, then massage his sternum gently until he becomes calm.

How Do I Stop My Chickens From Attacking Me?

One method you can use is that of walking calmly, in a non-threatening way, whenever you are around them. If the birds chase you, be calm and don’t run. This always works well to de-escalate the situations.

Another method you can use is that of ensuring you don’t dress in colors that make you prone to chicken attacks. You may have noticed, for instance, that incidents of chicken attacks go up when you dress in red. This may have led you to pose the question on why do chickens chase you when you are dressed in red? Or you may have noticed that chicken attacks go up when you wear nail polish: hence the question why do chickens chase you sometimes when you wear nail polish?

Thus, not wearing certain things when going to where the chickens are may reduce chances of them attacking you.

Yet another method you can use is that of asserting your dominance over individual birds that attack you. This is just a question of grabbing the specific bird, and carrying him under your arm for several minutes. If you do this several times, he comes to learn who is the boss, and is unlikely to ever try to assert his ‘dominance’ over you by attacking you.

Can You Train Chicken Not To Be Chasing People?

It may be a tall order to train chicken not to be chasing people.

In fact, the nature of chicken’s intelligence usually makes it very hard to train them to (or not to) do anything.

But there are measures you can put in place, to minimize chances of the chickens chasing people.

If you have a large yard, you can ensure that you locate the chicken at a place where they are unlikely to be chasing people.

Specific chickens that have developed this tendency to chase people can be locked. If it is a particularly bad problem, you can consider culling the worst chickens.

You can also ensure that you provide the chickens with adequate food, and other resources. This will surely minimize chances of them chasing after people.

Final Verdict – Why Do Chickens Chase You

Why do chickens chase you? The most likely reason for chickens chasing you is the desire for food. So they chase you in the hope that you will respond by giving them food. But there are also cases of chicken chasing you as a sign of affection, or in a bid to assert their ‘dominance’ over you.

The most important thing, in any situation, is to try to figure out why exactly the chickens are chasing you. Then resolve the issue – by giving them food or attention or by reasserting your dominance where necessary.

As a Pet lover, you need to learn about pet and make sure your pet chickens are kept comfortable as a pet.

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️